The Dream Academy

The Dream Academy were a 1980s British folk rock band, comprising singer/guitarist Nick Laird-Clowes, multi-instrumentalist (chiefly oboeist) Kate St John and keyboardist Gilbert Gabriel. Laird-Clowes was

The Dream Academy were a 1980s British folk rock band, comprising singer/guitarist Nick Laird-Clowes, multi-instrumentalist (chiefly oboeist) Kate St John and keyboardist Gilbert Gabriel. Laird-Clowes was the main songwriter with many songs being co-written by Gabriel. They were notable for their close connection to David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, a friend of Laird-Clowes', who produced and/or played on two of their albums and co-wrote one song, "Twelve-Eight Angel".

Their first single, "Life in a Northern Town" was a sizable hit in the U.S., charting at #7 on the Billboard Pop Music chart. The single was a tribute to the English singer/songwriter Nick Drake. It was their only major chart success. The Dream Academy's eponymous debut album also reached a wide audience in the States. Their two subsequent albums did not match the initial success and the group disbanded in the early 1990s. They toured once, in 1991.